Wednesday, 2 November 2011

Winners of 'Glimpses of India' felicitated at Cairo

CAIRO: Winners of the 17th annual 'Glimpses of India' painting competition organised by Indian embassy here were awarded prizes.

Ambassador of India to Egypt R Swaminathan along with celebrated Egyptian cartoonist and painter Mustafa Hussein distributed the prizes and certificates to the winners at the ceremony in Gomhouria Theatre yesterday.

To commemorate the birthdays of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture (MACIC) has been conducting a painting competition for Egyptian school children called the 'Glimpses of India' in cooperation with the Ministry of Education of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

This year, around 2200 children in the age groups 6-12 years (Primary), 13-15 years (Preparatory) and 16-18 years (Secondary) including children with special needs from 245 government, private and national institute schools in Cairo and Giza governorates participated in the competition which was held from October 9-19, at the Orman Botanic Garden.

A 3-member specialist jury selected 75 winners from 15 different categories. In addition, all 25 participating children with special needs were given prizes.

Further, 11 prize winners from National Institute schools who participated in the special painting competition conducted by the Indian Cultural Centre, to commemorate the India-Africa Forum Summit were also given prizes.

A catalogue carrying all the winning paintings of the children was distributed at the ceremony. Mustafa Hussein is one of Egypt's most famous cartoonists, whose cartoons in the Arabic daily Al Akhbar have captivated millions of readers.